Knowing how to check the source, as in the raw "code," of an email is important because there will be times when you need to do it. Why? To check authenticity of an email. Spam and phishing emails are getting more tricky to identify all the time, and your best weapon against this is knowing how to check the source of an email.

Unfortunately it is the case where the process of getting the source of an email is distinctively different per provider or mail client, so here’s a quick cheat sheet on how to do it:

Hotmail

1. Right-click the email you want to view the source of.

2. Left-click View Message Source.

Example:

Important note: This can only be done when your emails are shown as a list. If you double-click to open an email whereas the message list is not seen, there isn’t a way to view the message source from there. You must right-click specifically on the email in list view (regardless of whether the reading pane is on or off.)

Yahoo! Mail

There are two ways in Y! Mail to view the source.

1. While in list view, right click the email you want to view the source of.

2. Left click View full headers. It will be last in the list.

Example:

or..

Whether reading a message or having it highlighted in list view, click the Actions button then Full Header.

Example:

Yahoo! Mail Classic

1. Open the email you want to view the source of.

2. Scroll all the way to the bottom and look for the tiny text on the extreme right that says Full Headers and click it.

Example:

Gmail

1. Open the email you want to view the source of.

2. Click the small down arrow on the right to drop down a menu.

3. Select Show original.

Example:

Windows Live Mail or Microsoft Outlook Express 6

The super-annoying long way

(This is not the way you want to do it because it takes too many steps. See super-easy way below this.)

1. Right-click the email you want to view the source of.

2. Select Properties, like this:

3. From the window that opens up, select the Details tab, like this:

4. In that same window, click the Message Source button, like this:

The super-easy way

1. Highlight or open the email you want to view the source of.

2. Press CTRL+F3

The F3 method is a completely undocumented feature, both in OE 6 and WL Mail. But trust me, it’s there. Try it for yourself.

Mozilla Thunderbird

1. Highlight any email in the message list or open an email.

2. Click View then Message Source.

Example:

or..

1. Highlight any email in the message list or open an email.

2. Press CTRL+U

Incidentally, this is the exact same keystroke used to view web page HTML source in the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

What headers should you check in the source?

Okay, so you know how to view the source of an email, but what do you look for?

The easiest thing to check is the Received: header. This will tell you up front where the email came from originally. The part that’s most important is the very end of the line where the dot-com/net/org is.

Example:

This email came from google.com (it was a Gmail address,) so I know this email is safe. What’s before the google.com doesn’t matter much as it’s the tail that counts. Spam and phishing attempts will attempt to fool you into thinking the mail was delivered from a trusted domain by inserting said domain in the middle. For example, a spam/phish would show as google.com.some.bad.site.ru or something similar. The google.com is in there, but not at the tail. That’s bad and it’s a spam/phish attempt.

Keep an eye on the tail side of a Received: header and you’ll easily be able to identify true trusted domains from spam and phishing attempts.

If you use a Windows Live email address, that being any address that ends in @hotmail.com, @msn.com or @live.com, you can access the account right now in the Windows Live Mail client.

The immediate advantages of using WL Mail:

• No ads anywhere in the client
• No ads sent on outgoing mail
• Allows for local caching of mail for faster access and being able to read your mail offline
• Easier to attach files
• Faster than using the web interface

There are more but those are the biggies.

The way a Hotmail account is configured in WL Mail by default is to download a copy of every mail in your account (and no that does not mean once downloaded it deletes from the web version.) This unfortunately includes the Junk and Deleted folders, so every time your perform a mail check, anything in those folders is downloaded as well.

You can easily configure Hotmail to download only the headers by simply right-clicking on the folder and choosing the appropriate option.

It’s as simple as this:

Pictured above is done by doing the following:

1. Right-click the Junk e-mail folder.
2. Hover over Synchronization settings.
3. Click Headers only.

What this will do is download just the header and not the actual message. You will see the subject line but the mail will not be downloaded unless you actually open it.

I suggest doing this for both the Junk and the Deleted Items folder, because when you delete something you obviously don’t want it locally cached. Don’t worry, your deleted mail will still be there on a server level for 30 days unless you specifically choose to empty the Deleted Items folder.

Any folder in your Windows Live mail account can be set to Headers Only. This may prove to be an advantage for those that have bandwidth caps imposed by their ISP, or a slow internet connection. Headers are nothing but very small files and download almost instantly.

The WL mail client has no ads anywhere in it. Using it in combination with the headers only option makes it one of the speediest mail systems you can use.

Quick questions answered

Does the Windows Live Mail client use IMAP for Windows Live accounts?

No. Windows Live mail uses a proprietary protocol by Microsoft called DeltaSync. It allows for two-way synchronization of mail/contacts/calendar/notes, so it in fact does a whole lot more than just mail.

If I have a folder set to headers only and I delete a mail, does it get moved to the Deleted Items folder even though I don’t have to re-download it?

Yes. The way in which it works is that the WL Mail client has seamless synchronization with the web-based version. When you delete a mail and then click the Sync button (or just wait until the client performs another mail check), what you do on a local level will be reflected exactly in the web-based version, and can be loaded the same way on either platform. Even if you did not read the mail and deleted it, it will still be moved to the appropriate location.

Is there any way I can turn off the reading pane so I don’t automatically download an email when I click on it?

Yes, you can turn off the reading pane. First it should be noted that the reading pane is by design disabled whenever viewing the Junk e-mail folder. So even if you have it enabled and go inside the Junk e-mail folder, it will turn itself off when in there. However if you want it off all the time, press ALT+V to bring up the View menu, then click Layout.

You will see this:

Simply uncheck the box for Show the reading pane, then click Apply then OK.

Will adjusting synchronization settings for my Windows Live account affect any other Live or other POP/IMAP accounts I have in WL Mail?

No. Whatever you adjust for sync settings will only affect that specific account. It does not "carry over" to others.

Are headers re-downloaded every time I start the WL Mail client?

Yes. WL Mail ordinarily performs a mail check (what it called a "Sync") on startup unless you configured it otherwise. Being that headers are so small in size this will not be a cause for concern.

Will choosing headers only for specific folders affect the way I search mail in WL Mail?

Yes. Any search performed in a folder you have set to headers only will only search to/from addresses and subject line, but not the body of the message since it isn’t downloaded locally at that point. To perform full searches that include the body of the message, you will have to have full synchronization or use the web-based version.

If I currently have a folder set to full synchronization and switch to headers only, are the local copies removed for the mail in that folder?

No. If you want to configure a Live account with headers only for everything, remove the account from WL Mail and re-add it. On first check of mail, stop the process (click "Sync" twice to see the window and hit the stop button), set all folders to headers only, then perform another sync.

Got another question about Live mail and the WL Mail client? Leave a comment and ask.

In Windows Live Mail (as in the e-mail client and not the web site) the default method for an e-mail signature is nothing but plain text, like this:

You can however create advanced e-mail signatures using the freely available Nvu web page editor.

Here’s how it’s done.

1. Download and install Nvu. It’s free.

2. Copy any images you plan to use to the folder My Stationary.

My Stationary is a folder you already have on your computer, located under My Documents. This was created when you installed WL Mail originally. Any images to be used in a signature must reside in this folder, else it will not work.

For the example below I’m going to use a small image of myself:

The above is a 48×48 pixel image. You should keep whatever image you use small so you don’t annoy the people you send mail to. If you’re asking the question, "How big is too big?", try not to use anything over a 100×100 image.

If you have an image you’d like to use but it’s too big, you can resize it quickly using Pixlr editor. This is a free in-browser editor (no need to install anything). Load that site, open the image you want to edit, click Image then Image Size from the black bar at the very top and resize to 80×80 or smaller, then save as PNG or JPEG.

When your images are ready, copy any you intend to use to the My Stationary folder.

4. Launch Nvu and save a blank signature first.

When you first launch Nvu you will be given a blank web page to edit, much like editing a new document a word processor. The first thing we’ll do is save this file. This is necessary to do first so that images can be added in more easily.

Click the Save button. You will be prompted to title the page. Call it signature, like this:

Click OK.

You will be be prompted to save the file somewhere. Navigate to the My Stationary folder and save your file as signature, like this:

The file will be auto-saved with the .html file extension.

5. Edit and save your signature.

First we’ll add in the image. Click the Image button at the top of Nvu. A new window will open.

Click the Choose File button.

Example:

You will be automatically placed into the My Stationary folder to find the image you want. If not, navigate to My Documents then My Stationary. Find the title of the image you want to add, then double-click to open it. 

After that, tick the option for Don’t use alternate text (if you don’t, Nvu will force you to use alternate text for images, which is not necessary).

You should have something like this:

Click OK.

Your image will be inserted into the page.

After that, type in some text you want in your signature.

For any text you want linked to another web site, highlight the text and click the Link button at the top of Nvu.

Here’s an example of what you could have:

The last thing we’ll do is change the font.

Press CTRL+A to highlight everything in the page.

Click the drop-down menu that states Variable With or Mixed and pick Helvetica, Arial like this:

It is strongly suggested that you only use Helvetica/Arial, Times or Courier as everybody has these fonts installed on their computers. If you choose a font that is non-standard, chances are high that it will show up as nothing but Times New Roman (or other standard serif font) on the recipient’s computer.

Lastly, adjust the font size by using the font increase/decrease size buttons:

Remember that you can highlight and select different text just as you would in a word processor program, adjusting some to be one size and other text a different size.

Here’s an example of what you could have:

When we’re all finished, simply click Save and close Nvu.

6. Enable the signature in Windows Live Mail.

In WL Mail, press ALT+M to bring up the menu, then click Options:

For the new window that appears, click the Signatures tab, then tick the option File at bottom, like this:

Click the Browse button to the right of File.

From the Open window that appears, change Text Files to HTML Files, like this:

Navigate to your My Stationary folder and select signature (this is the file you just saved a few moments ago).

At this point you will see the file path next to File, similar to this (the path will be different on XP computers because My Documents is in a different location):

Make sure Add signatures to all outgoing messages is checked:

Click Apply then OK.

7. Compose a new e-mail to yourself to test it out.

If all goes well…

Success! Your new advanced signature works!

Questions answered

My signature doesn’t look the same as it did in Nvu. Did I do something wrong?

No. You’re probably viewing and/or composing mails in plain text only.

In Options/Read, uncheck Read all messages in plain text, like this:

In Options/Send, the Reply to messages using the format in which they were sent checkbox must be unchecked, the Mail Sending Format must ticked as HTML, like this:

How do I re-edit my signature?

Launch Nvu and open the signature file from the My Stationary folder. Make any edits you wish, then save. It will instantaneously take effect in WL Mail on any future mails you send out.

Are the images I use in my signature attached as inline?

YES. They are attached to your e-mail and sent inline without any need to host them externally on other web sites like ImageShack or PhotoBucket. Your signature will never "break" because it will be not be dependent on any external image hosting whatsoever.

Can I use colors when editing my signature?

YES. You can highlight any text and make it any color you want.

Can I use advanced features when editing my signature such as tables, horizontal rules, paragraph alignment and so on?

YES. You can use all those things.

What can’t I do with my signature?

You can’t do anything that involves scripting of any kind. For example, if you entered in some JavaScript, that absolutely would not work. Everything in your signature file must be static in nature (which it is by default).

Why must the signature file itself and images I use be in My Stationary and not in a more convenient spot?

WL Mail has a feature called Stationary. It is something not too many people use simply because the stationary choices are terrible, and the way to create them is even more terrible (File / Save as Stationary doesn’t work, and the Stationary Wizard via the Options/Compose tab/Create New button isn’t too much better).

The signature file itself must reside in My Stationary for any signature images to work. For example, the image I used was menga48.jpg. When in the My Stationary folder, the HTML markup written by Nvu has src="menga48.jpg" in the <img> tag for the file path. If it were in any other directory, Nvu as well as any other editor would write something like src="file:///some-local-location/menga48.jpg", and that simply will not work.

Images for signature use almost must reside in My Stationary for file path reasons as well. When you have both the signature HTML file and the images in My Stationary, everything works.

Can I "export" my signature?

YES. Copy the signature.html file and whatever images you use to a USB stick, go to any other computer with Windows Live Mail installed on it, copy the files to the My Stationary directory on that computer, then follow steps 6 and 7 above.

What e-mail account types will this work on?

The signature will work regardless of account type, be it POP, IMAP or HTTP (Hotmail).

Is it absolutely required that I use Nvu?

No. Dreamweaver will work as will coding your HTML file "by hand" even with something as simple as Notepad. The editor is not necessary. I only mention it because it’s easier for most people to work with.

Can I use my word processor to export an HTML for use as a signature?

I highly recommend against doing that because word processors export HTML files with lots of useless junk code – so much so it may crash WL Mail on attempt to use it as a signature.

I use Outlook Express 6 and not Windows Live Mail. Will these instructions work if I’m using that software?

Yes, but the stationary folder on most XP computers is this:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery

You will have to substitute My Stationary for the this folder if you want to do this in OE6 using the above instructions.

Also remember that signatures are not shared. If you use a signature in OE6, it will not import over to WL Mail so you will have to manually copy the files from the OE6 Stationary folder to the WL Mail one.

Note: This is for Windows 7 users only.

In Windows XP and Vista, when you use the Windows Live Mail client, you can right-click the icon at the bottom so that it only appears as such when the app is minimized:

When using the Windows Live Messenger, by default it will also have a small icon:

However the problem is that these Windows Live applications do not do this by default in Windows 7. Instead they show as large icons to the left.

The way to get them to minimize to small taskbar icons is to set the compatibility mode to Windows Vista for each. This is easy, and once done they will act as they did in XP/Vista concerning how they look in the taskbar.

See video below for details.

Microsoft has just announced some beta anti-virus/spyware/malware protection software called Microsoft Essentials. It’s free and free is good.

This software is only available to people running a legal copy of Windows. This is fine. My copies of XP are all legal as is my Windows 7.

After jumping thru several hoops trying to download this thing, I sign in with my Windows Live ID (required), fill out a registration form (required), validate my email address (required), and THEN…

The red box says:

The invitation you are using belongs to another registered account. If you believe you received this message in error, please try using another Windows Live ID/Passport account or contact mchelp@microsoft.com for additional assistance.

What?

Geez, thanks Microsoft. Now I can’t even try your software.

So if you want to try out Microsoft Essentials, if you can get past the registration process, you did better than me.

Windows Live Mail is a great email client, no question. But one very longstanding complaint is the way it renders fonts. Whereas in other mail clients it’s stupidly easy to make mails look a specific way for text, in Windows Live Mail (and the previous Outlook Express) it is, put politely, a challenge.

This tutorial is how to get the fonts to look monospaced (i.e. Courier New) everywhere for email content. And I’ll also instruct how to switch back and forth between monospaced and rich-styled HTML format.

Windows Live Mail by default hides the menu bar. To show it, just press ALT. If you want it to stay there permanently, press ALT+M (to bring up menu options), then M again. To hide it, repeat process.

Click Tools then Options, then the Read tab. You see this:

Check the box for Read all messages in plain text. Then click the Fonts button.

You see this:

Set the proportional font and fixed-width font to Courier New. Then set the font size to Smaller. Then click OK.

Click the Send tab. You see this:

Check the box for Reply to messages using the format in which they were sent. You do this so when anybody sends you an email with photos in it and you want to include those photos in the reply, there’s no special steps needed.

Next to Mail Sending Format, tick the option for Plain text.

Click the Compose tab. You see this:

Set the Compose Font for both mail and news to 10 pt. Courier New.

Click OK.

When viewing a mail, such as the PCMech Newsletter, it will look like this:

If you want to view this in the original HTML version, there are two ways:

1. Click View, then Message in HTML.
2. Press ALT+SHIFT+H

Then it looks like this:

You can switch back to plain text by closing and opening the email again.

Lastly, on replies if the message is in HTML, the compose window will load everything, including all images, custom fonts and so on. If you want to switch to a plain text reply in the compose window, click Format then Plain text, otherwise leave as is.

Why use the plain text only option?

It decreases the risk of having malicious code executed in your emails. Granted, WL Mail is very good at suspecting phishing attempts and does not allow images from unknown senders, but choosing the option to read in plain text only adds an extra layer of security.

Why change all the font settings like this?

Configuring WL Mail in this fashion gives all your emails a uniform look that’s easier on the eyes. The default way it’s configured makes some mails have huge text while others do not, with little consistency from mail to mail.

Don’t like monospaced? Use any font and size options you want.

For those with not-so perfect vision, using the above methods with a different font (such as Trebuchet MS) with a larger size (such as ‘Larger’ combined with Trebuchet MS 14pt) will make all your emails much easier to read and reply to.

If you run your own web site and run Perl, PHP scripts or the like, there will be instances where you have to edit some files from time to time.

The long way to do it is to download the file you need to edit, modify it, then upload it back.

The short way is to edit the file "live" on the server directly. Using Notepad++ this is easy to do with it’s built-in FTP feature.

First, enable FTP folders by clicking the small yellow folder icon at top:

You will see a right and bottom pane appear, similar to this:

In the FTP Folder window at right, click the settings icon (the gray one that looks like a gear).

You’ll get a window like this:

Click New (bottom left button) to start a new profile.

Enter Profile as the friendly name you want to remember this FTP server by, such as "My FTP Server".

Enter Address as the FTP server you want to connect to, followed by your username and password.

If using Windows XP, you don’t have to set anything else up.

If using Vista or 7, you do have to set the Use profile cache directory to a local writable folder (such as My Documents for your local Windows account). If you don’t do this, you will not be able to edit any files "live".

When done, click OK.

To the left of the settings icon you clicked is a blue plug-looking icon:

Clicking this will bring up your server list. It will show the entry you just created. Click your entry and you will establish an FTP session with your server.

From there you can double-click any file you want (as long as it’s text based) to edit, seen below.

After double-clicking a file it will open in the editor as a tab (each successive file you open will create more tabs). Make your edits, then save the file with the save button or CTRL+S, and it will be saved direct-to-server.

Since upgrading to Windows 7 I was finally about to try out Windows Live Movie Maker Beta.

Summary: I hate it.

This software is awful. I have tried hard to find anything good about this app, but the XP version was just so, so much better than this.

The only saving grace of this app is that it’s in beta, so I am praying when out of beta this software changes drastically.

Here are the problems I’m talking about with Movie Maker Live Beta:

1. Where’s my timeline?

I have no timeline at all and couldn’t find any way to get it.

iMovie tried this too and Mac users griped about it loudly, so I’ll say it loudly as well for Windows users – KEEP THE TIMELINE IN YOUR VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE. This is required stuff, guys.

2. Ribbon interface will confuse the crap out of people.

I can see the ribbon interface being easy to use in WLMM, but only if it has a complete revamp. In its present state it’s just bad.

When you have a drastic change in the way the software works, it should greet you with, "Hi! Here’s how to use me!" No such instruction exists. And the help section is Spartan and terrible.

Again, yes I know this is beta software.

3. Lack of features.

Three transition effects, six "color change" effects, a text box and a trim feature. That’s it.

And that’s not enough. XP’s old Movie Maker had way more than this.

Windows Live Movie Maker beta gets a huge thumbs down from me.

It’s a good thing this wasn’t included with Windows 7 as it’s definitely not finished. Not by a long shot.

More people these days are getting away from instant messenger programs and using the in-browser way, because there really isn’t too much reason to use an IM app these days. Years ago a large chunk of the IM functionality was provided by the application, but that’s not the case anymore. You can do voice, webcam, manage your buddy/contact list and just about everything else right from the browser.

With web-based IM you have from-service and multi-protocol.

Multi-Protocol

The one most people know is Meebo. It has a fantastic interface and is super-easy to set up and use. However there’s also eBuddy,ILoveIM, IMhaha, IMUnitive, KoolIM, mabber, MSN2Go, radiusIM and Wablet.

Needless to say you’ve got a lot of choice.

Do you have a review of one of the above? Leave a comment. I haven’t had the time to test all the above, so if you’ve got a few moments to spare, let us know what you think of one or more of the above.

From-Service

These are web-based versions of IM from the service providers themselves.

Yahoo: http://webmessenger.yahoo.com/
Windows Live: http://messidog.live.com or http://webmessenger.msn.com
AIM: http://www.aim.com/aimexpress.adp

Here are the rating from best to worst:

Best: AIM

AIM has updated their web interface and said honestly it’s the best there is. Flash-based, smooth animations, no weirdness with extraneous pop-ups (other than just one for the IM window itself), in-window tabbed conversations, familiar friendly sounds – this one has got the works. If you use AIM you will take to this like a fish to water.

Good: Yahoo

This looks very similar to the Yahoo Messenger app itself. However the problem is that it takes up the whole browser and I could not find any way to "detach" the IM. But other than that this is a solid performer. It has tabs, very friendly interface and a simple clean design. If you use Yahoo Messenger you’ll definitely want to try this.

Worst: Windows Live

Where Microsoft excels with it’s Windows Live Messenger client, their web messenger is a joke. It’s absolutely awful. The "messidog" address almost never works. You’ll get "An error has occurred" and be left flat on attempt to login.

The other address does work, but the interface looks like MSN Messenger 7. That’s bad. Bear in mind the current client is version 2009 (version 9). It’s also plagued with pop-up warnings left and right. This is a web messenger designed for 2002, not 2009. I have no idea why Microsoft keeps such a horrible web IM around like this. They’ve made such a huge effort to make all the Live services better and more friendly but haven’t touched the IM portion whatsoever. Very strange.

You’re far better off just using one of the multi-protocol services above.

What’s your take? App or Web?

Have IM web apps come far enough to make you give up your IM client or are there specific features that keep you "local", so to speak? Let us know.

For those of you out there who choose to use a traditional email client with IMAP to connect to Gmail (of which there are many of you), you may have noticed that checking your Gmail can at times be a bit on the slow side. A reason for this may be because you’re subscribed to all IMAP folders in "full download" mode.

If you unsubscribe from specific folders and/or set them to download headers only, this makes checking mail and overall use of the system much speedier.

For this article I’ll show you how to do this with the Windows Live Mail client. Remember, this app is not just for Hotmail. It can easily do POP and IMAP as well.

The default view in Windows Live Mail is that the menu bar is hidden. Show it by clicking the icon to the far right next to the blue help icon and select Show Menu Bar, like this:

When you do this you will see File, Edit, View, Go, Tools, Actions and Help appear at the top of the mail client.

Select your Gmail email account on the left (clicking Inbox is fine). You should see a button labeled IMAP Folders, like this:

If you do not see this button, make sure your Gmail account is selected.

If it is and you still don’t see it, click View then Customize Toolbar.

Looks like this:

Make sure IMAP Folders is listed under Current buttons as shown above. If not, select it from the left and place it on the right.

When done, click the IMAP Folders button. This will show your currently subscribed list.

Looks like this:

I suggest double-clicking the Starred folder so you can unsubscribe from it. There’s no reason to have it there when using an email client (unless you specifically want it there). On double-click the folder next to the word will disappear, meaning it is unsubscribed. If you want to subscribe again, double click again. Click OK when finished.

Setting a folder to download headers only or not download at all

With IMAP there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to fully download spam, so that’s the example I’ll use here.

Right-click the Spam folder, select Synchronization settings and choose Don’t synchronize or Headers only, like this:

All spams that on mail check from now on will now download just the header and not the body of the message. This will significantly speed up overall use just from doing this alone.

Bear in mind this can be done with any IMAP folder – even the inbox.

In addition, if you encounter Gmail IMAP server timeouts even if only a semi-regular basis, setting folders for headers-only should cure that ill in short order.

Getting a few gig’s worth of space for freebie online storage these days is not a big deal for most people. After all, Gmail offers 7.2GB of freebie email space currently (which many people use as storage only), so a few gigs is barely worth noticing.

However, when it’s 25, you do sit up and take notice. That’s just a tick over five 4.7GB DVD’s worth of storage. Think about that for a moment. 25GB is a lot of space.

Continued

Some good news for our gamers out there: Microsoft has dropped the yearly fee of the "Live Gold Subscription Card" to $29.97 yearly (from $49.99). And back in July ‘08 the Live service was made free to PC users.

For those of you out there that think paying for gaming on an Xbox (or any console) is a bit ridiculous, it isn’t. This is a natural progression of gaming where the "replayability" of games these days heavily depends on the ability to play with friends. This is part of the reason why older games like Counter-Strike (where the stats speak for themselves), Starcraft and Diablo II still command a huge audience. Without the team-play ability from the internet, none of these games would be played as much as they are now. The fact you can connect up to the internet and have team-play is a huge attraction.

$30 yearly is a good sweet spot for this type of gaming (i.e. console gaming). It translates to $2.50 monthly and that’s a bargain.

If the subscription cost was a source of concern for you concerning the Xbox console, that’s definitely not the case any longer.

Written recently on CNET is an author claiming that the reason most people use Google for internet searching is habitual and nothing more.

I was forced to agree with this after trying it out for myself – but only after that. Originally my thought was that Google’s search is unmatched and there’s no way Yahoo search or Live search can compare.

But I was wrong.

After performing several searches using generic words (like computer) and then advanced phrases (like tampa red light camera), the results were surprising. No matter which I used, the relevance of the results – which is what counts the most – of the search results were up to speed using all three search providers.

You can think of relevance by asking a simple question when you see the search results, that being, "Was this what I was looking for?" If the answer is yes, the results were relevant. If not, they weren’t.

There was a time when Google was far superior to any other internet search provider – and this was for years. But it would appear Yahoo and Live have caught up. And in some cases the rivals perform better than Google. Example: A search for tampa florida on Yahoo returns a "Top Rated Things To Do" for that area; it’s useful and very visible. It also lists better-placed advertising for apartments and rentals; something many who search for Tampa want to know about.

Do you use Google for everything search?

You might be using it only out of habit.

Some people have noted that the voice quality in the videos I produce for PCMech and in personal music recordings I make that have sought-after "FM sound" to them, which loosely translates to "sounds like the dee jay I hear on FM radio".

If you’re the type that records audio and are looking for that particular sound, it’s actually much easier to achieve than most people realize.

It takes three steps.

First is how you model the sound of your own voice when you speak when recording it.

Do you use verbal fillers such as "um..", "ah…", "er…" or the like? Try not to use those. Don’t worry, a lot of people do and it’s a tough habit to break. You can kill most of the fillers by having a "cheat sheet" next to you when speaking. No, it doesn’t contain every word you’re going to say but just a topic list. When you have this list, verbal fillers will usually decrease noticeably.

There are other tricks you can use, such as saying more with each breath, purposely slowing down how fast you speak (but not by much) and trying find a nice happy medium between speaking and announcing.

Modeling your voice just in the way you speak will make a dramatic improvement in the overall recorded sound.

Second on the list is noise reduction.

On most voice recordings people get hiss (a.k.a. "white noise") and background noise they want out of there.

The easiest way to eliminate the unwanted noise is to use a mild noise reduction filter.

Audacity, a free audio recording program, has a such a filter as do most other programs that record audio. Even Camtasia Studio has one.

The reason you want to use a mild filter is because if you filter it too much it will literally cut out parts of your voice – and you don’t want that.

It takes a bit of experimentation to get the proper sound you want from a noise reduction filter.

Third on the list is compression.

Compression above all else is what most people think an "FM Radio" sound sounds like. And for those most part it’s true.

To note: Do not confuse this with file compression because that’s something totally different. What we’re talking about is using a compressor as an audio filter.

Audacity by the way also has compression filters in it.

In FM radio, music and voice are compressed with a live filter so that everything comes out at an even audio level thru your car speakers when you listen to it. Nothing is too loud or too soft. This is why a recorded piece of music sounds different on a home stereo played via CD (or computer) compared to a radio broadcast. It is the compression you’re hearing that makes it sound different.

When you examine an audio wave in an audio editor like Audacity, the original recording has peaks and valleys. When compressed, most of those peaks/valleys are "scrunched" so that it’s all evened out. Volume levels are even across the wave after the filter is applied for the most part.

Another example of compressed audio is a camcorder’s recording. All audio recorded with a camcorder is highly compressed with a live filter which is why it seemingly can "pick up everything". In reality it can’t. What it’s doing when recording is filtering on the fly so it can "hear" whatever is in range, near or far, and even it out appropriately.

If you’ve never experimented with noise reduction filters and compression, you ordinarily won’t get it right the first time. It takes practice to get the sound you want. But once you do you can repeat the process every time you make an audio recording for podcasting or music recording or whatever you do with recorded audio.

To note: I may do more detailed how-to’s on this later but would prefer if you would comment and say whether you would be interested or not. Any/all comments appreciated. I can get seriously detailed on this stuff.

There’s a lot of people that use Yahoo! and their services within, but most people never heard of Yahoo! Live.

Yahoo! Live is (and soon to be was) Yahoo!’s version of live broadcasting but it never really took off with the internet masses. As such it was forgotten quickly.

I tried it once and the service could be best described as lethargic. The interface was clunky, the lag time on video feeds was maddening and there was simply no way to get the number of viewers you could get on Ustream, Stickam, Mogulus, Justin.tv, blogTV or the like.

There are some things that Yahoo! does really well, but live broadcasting isn’t one of them so they’re waving the white flag on this one.